History, Law, and Politics

Davis, Angela Y

Angela Davis: An Autobiography.

New York : Random House, 1974.

First edition of this classic autobiography by “activist. An author. A scholar. An abolitionist. A legend” (Ibram X. Kendi). Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the title page, “To Brandy, In Struggle, Angela Y. Davis 11/18/74.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket designContinue reading "Angela Davis: An Autobiography."

Walesa, Lech

A Way of Hope: An Autobiography.

New York : Henry Holt and Company, 1987.

First edition of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader’s autobiography. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by Lech Walesa on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

Joy, Charles R. & Arnold, Melvin [Albert Schweitzer]

The Africa of Albert Schweitzer.

New York and Boston Harper & Brothers/ The Beacon Press.

First edition of this work by the legendary Nobel laureate. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated. Boldly signed by Albert Schweitzer and his wife Helene on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. An exceptional example, uncommon signed by both Albert and Helene Schweitzer.

The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and The New. Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues. And With the former Translations dilligently compared & revised. [with] The Book of Common Prayer, And Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to Use of the Church of England; Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David.

London : Printed by Charles Bill and Thomas Newcomb, Printer to the King and Queens most Excellent Majesties, 1692-1693.

Rare 17th century Holy Bible and Book of Common Prayer uniformly and exquisitely bound. Octavo, two volumes uniformly bound in full crushed levant morocco with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling and scrolling to the front and rear panels with fleuron cornerpieces, engraved silver central ornamentContinue reading "The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and The New. Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues. And With the former Translations dilligently compared & revised. [with] The Book of Common Prayer, And Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to Use of the Church of England; Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David."

Friedman, Thomas L. [Madeleine Albright]

The Lexus And The Olive Tree.

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999.

First edition of this groundbreaking work about globalization. Octavo, original publisher’s half cloth, bookplate to the front pastedown from “The Private Collection of Secretary Madeleine K. Albright.” Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To Secretary of State Albright, warmest regards and admiration! Thomas L. Friedman.” The recipient, Madeleine K. Albright, wasContinue reading "The Lexus And The Olive Tree."

[Oppenheimer, J. Robert; Kitty Oppenheimer; Norris Bradbury; Niels Bohr]

J. Robert Oppenheimer Photo Album Commemorating his Return to the Los Alamos Laboratory.

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Rare original photo album commemorating J. Robert Oppenheimer’s return to the Los Alamos Laboratory on May 18th, 1964. Square octavo, blue boards with white plastic comb binding, with 30 black and white photographs. Nearly two decades after the Trinity test and only three years before his death, J. Robert Oppenheimer revisited the Los Alamos Laboratory.Continue reading "J. Robert Oppenheimer Photo Album Commemorating his Return to the Los Alamos Laboratory."

[The Bible. Translated according to the Ebrew and Greeke].

London : Robert Barker, 1605.

Rare early 17th century printing of Robert Barker’s Geneva Bible. Small quarto, bound in three quarter calf over marbled boards, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, text in black letter, double column, lacking general title-page, New Testament title-page with woodcut border, Concordances and Psalms bound in at rear [Herbert 280]. Period family ownership inscriptions andContinue reading "[The Bible. Translated according to the Ebrew and Greeke]."

Ovid [Sandys, George]

Ovid’s Metamorphosis Englished, Mythologized, And Represented in Figures. An Essay to the Translation of Virgil’s Aeneis.

London : Printed by J. L. for Andrew Hebb, 1640.

Fourth edition of George Sandys’ revered English translation of Ovid’s Metamorphosis. Folio, contemporary paneled boards, rebacked, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, illustrated with two copies of the engraved portrait of Ovid (one opposite engraved title, the other opposite the Life), engraved title page, and 15 full-page plates (one at the beginning of each book ofContinue reading "Ovid’s Metamorphosis Englished, Mythologized, And Represented in Figures. An Essay to the Translation of Virgil’s Aeneis."

Isaacson, Walter; Evan Thomas

The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made.

New York : Simon and Schuster, 1986.

First edition of this biography on how six influential American statesmen shaped U.S. foreign policy and the global order during the Cold War. Octavo, original publisher’s half-cloth, illustrated with black and white photographs. Boldly signed by Walter Isaacson on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, inscriptions to the front andContinue reading "The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made."

Locke, John

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding: In Four Books.

London : Printed for Awnsham and John Churchil, at the Black-Swan in Pater-Noster Row, and Samuel Manship, at the Ship in Cornhill, near the Royal-Exchange, 1694.

Rare second edition of this fundamental work in the history of Western thought, the first to name Locke as the author and to include the frontispiece portrait of him. Folio, bound full paneled calf, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, elaborated diced stamping to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, engraved frontispiece portraitContinue reading "An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding: In Four Books."

Wells, H.G.; Julian S. Huxley and G.P. Wells

The Science of Life.

London : Cassell and Company Limited, 1931.

First edition of “the first modern textbook of biology.” Quarto, original cloth, top stain black, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by Wells in the year of publication on the second free endpaper, “For Lady Wavetree devotion H.G. Wells Cannes. Feb 16. 1931.” Very good in the rare dust jacket, which is in very good condition. SignedContinue reading "The Science of Life."

Churchill, Winston S

My Early Life; Thoughts and Adventures; Great Contemporaries; Step by Step.

London : Odhams Press Limited, 1936-1939.

First Odhams press edition of four of Churchill’s best-known works. Octavo, 4 volumes, original cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, illustrated. Presentation set, inscribed by Churchill to his financial adviser on the front free endpaper of My Early Life, “To T.E.R. Harris from Winston S. Churchill Christmas 1947” and initialed by ChurchillContinue reading "My Early Life; Thoughts and Adventures; Great Contemporaries; Step by Step."

Reagan, Ronald [Lech Walesa]

Speaking My Mind.

New York : Simon and Schuster, 1989.

First edition of President Reagan’s collection of speeches. Octavo, original half cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the dedication page, “Dear Elena Alexander With Very Best Wishes. Ronald Reagan Dec. 21- 1989.” Additionally signed by Lech Walesa on the half-title page. Lech Wałęsa is a Polish labor leader and statesmanContinue reading "Speaking My Mind."

Greenlaw, Olga S

The Lady and the Tigers.

New York : E. P. Dutton, 1943.

First edition, early printing of this memoir from the official war diarist for the “Flying Tigers”. Octavo, original publisher’s orange cloth, cartographic endpapers, frontispiece of the author, illustrated with black and white photographs. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the verso of the front free endpaper, “To Mrs. Philippe Coombes, who has contributedContinue reading "The Lady and the Tigers."

Chennault, Claire Lee; Robert Hotz [Editor]

Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault.

Tucson, Arizona : James Thorvardson & Sons, 1991.

Limited edition of this autobiographical account of Chennault’s military career. Octavo, original green cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated with black and white photographs. Boldly signed on the colophon page in black felt tip by sixteen members of the Flying Tigers, including: Tex Hill, Ken Jernstedt, Charles Mott, Paul J. Greene, Dick Rossi, Joe Rosbert, Bob Layher,Continue reading "Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault."

By a Loyal Subject

A Letter to the Right Honorable the Earl of Warwick, Upon the Subject of Opposition, in Consequence of the Speeches of His Lordship in the House of Peers, on the 23d and 27th of March, 1797, in Opposition to the Motions of the Earls of Oxford and Suffolk, to Address His Majesty for Peace, and for the Dismissal of the Right Honorable William Pitt.

[London] : Printed for the Author, 1798.

First edition of this appeal to the King of Great Britain and Ireland, King George III, during the French Revolutionary Wars. Duodecimo, bound in full contemporary straight-grain red morocco with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments, elaborate gilt ruling with a gilt coronet and monogram ‘Y’ to the front and rear panels,Continue reading "A Letter to the Right Honorable the Earl of Warwick, Upon the Subject of Opposition, in Consequence of the Speeches of His Lordship in the House of Peers, on the 23d and 27th of March, 1797, in Opposition to the Motions of the Earls of Oxford and Suffolk, to Address His Majesty for Peace, and for the Dismissal of the Right Honorable William Pitt."

Obama, Barack

Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

New York : Times Books/ Random House, 1995.

First edition of this memoir by the 44th President of the United States. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by Barack Obama on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Robin Schiff. Jacket art by Steven Dana. Author photograph by Warren Browne. Accompanied by a business card from “PresidentContinue reading "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance."

Freud, Sigmund

The Interpretation of Dreams.

New York : The Basic Books, 1955.

First edition of this translation English of this cornerstone of psychoanalysis. Octavo, original cloth. Translation by James Strachey. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some chips. Rare in the original jacket.

Biblia Cum Concordantiis Veteris et Novi Testamenti. [The Bible with Concordances of the Old and New Testaments]. [Jerome’s Latin Vulgate].

[Lugundi] : [Jacobum Mareschal], 1527.

Rare 16th century printed seminary copy of Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. Folio, bound in full elaborately blind-stamped vellum with remains of iron clasps, all edges red, finely printed in gothic letter, title printed in red and black within woodcut borders, numerous woodcuts and woodcut initials, title and a few woodcuts hand-colored. With a Seminary library catalogContinue reading "Biblia Cum Concordantiis Veteris et Novi Testamenti. [The Bible with Concordances of the Old and New Testaments]. [Jerome’s Latin Vulgate]."

Blumberg, Stanley A.; Gwinn Owens; Edward Teller

Energy and Conflict: The Life and Times of Edward Teller.

New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1976.

First edition of this biography on legendary theoretical physicist Edward Teller. Octavo, original publisher’s orange cloth, illustrated with black and white photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Ruby M. Ness with thanks Edward Teller.” Fine in a very good dust jacket with wear to the extremities, signature toContinue reading "Energy and Conflict: The Life and Times of Edward Teller."

Malkiel, Burton G.; Patricia A. Taylor; with Jianping Mei and Rui Yang

From Wall Street to the Great Wall: How Investors Can Profit from China’s Booming Economy.

New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2008.

First edition of this work by the author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Burt Malkiel on the front free endpaper. Fine in a fine dust jacket. From the library of the author, Burt Malkiel.

Bernanke, Ben S.; Thomas Laubach; Frederic S. Mishkin; Adam S. Posen

Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience.

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, 1999.

First edition of this ground-breaking study. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Matthew Best wishes Ben Bernanke.” Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Marek Antoniak.

Popper, Karl R

The Open Society And Its Enemies.

London : Routledge & Kegan Paul LTD, 1952.

Second editions of Popper’s magnum opus, one of the most important books of the twentieth century. Octavo, 2 volumes, original black cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in volume one, “To Lionel Robbins with kindest regards. February 6th 1952. K.R. Popper.” Lionel Robbins (1898-1984) was an economist and prominentContinue reading "The Open Society And Its Enemies."

Buber, Martin

Tales of the Hasidim: The Early Masters.

London : Thames and Hudson, 1956.

Early edition of this seminal work of the Hasidic movement. Octavo, publisher’s original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine, front panel vignette of whales stamped in gilt. Very good in a good dust jacket with damp-staining to the rear panels of both. Translated by Olga Marx.